Justified – “Truth and Consequences” – review

We’re getting ever closer to the full story behind the mystery of the Panamanian diplomat’s bag on this week’s Justified, “Truth and Consequences.” While that storyline remains the most intriguing thus far this season (after all, the secret forced Arlo to cement his stay in maximum security even further in the first episode of season four) the others are far from slouches themselves. So before we get into the whereabouts of Drew Thompson, let’s discuss the myriad of other shit going down in Harlan County and elsewhere right now.

First off we’ve got Boyd confronting Cassie St. Cyr at the Last Chance Holiness Church, coming across her, Boyd notes, as she’s leaving brother Billy’s room, begging the question of whether, like other major cable shows before it like Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and Dexter, is Justified now up for dipping its toes in incestual waters? Boyd offers Cassie “thirty pieces of silver” to light out for the territories but she holds her own, saying that if he wants her gone Boyd’s gonna have to pony up enough cash to get them a church somewhere, not just another tent in another county.

The carrot failing him, Boyd orders Colt and Jimmy to give them the stick, the twosome’s attempted attack only leading to Jimmy getting the holy shit bit out of him by a mess of snakes. (Like any right-thinking human being, I think snakes are fucking gross and this scene really effectively gave me the willies.) Thing is, Jimmy doesn’t croak after all those bites, giving Boyd the idea of going into round two with Billy in front of his flock with a snake that hasn’t been poison-neutered by Cassie. This encounter reveals that Billy *really* seems to have no idea how much his sister is manipulating him, but Billy’s hubris leads him to handle the snake despite Boyd and Cassie’s protests, resulting in Billy getting bit (liked how he had the mental strength to safely place the snake back in the box after the bite, a very nice touch) and Boyd winning this battle.

But during Jimmy’s agony, just where the fuck was Johnny? Turns out Johnny was meeting with Wynn Duffy, asking the man for a piece of the Dixie Mafia action in return for Boyd’s death. While long-time readers know I’m always down for more Duffy involvement, it really kinda bummed me out that Johnny would do Boyd this way. It’s gonna be sad to see Boyd cut his treacherous throat.

In Raylan’s personal life we get to learn some more about Randall’s relationship with Lindsey, Lindsey letting Raylan know that she and Randall used to rob guys that she’d cozy up with, the gig ending when Randall whaled on one of them over jealousy and was sent to prison in Florida. Despite Raylan’s reservations, Lindsey uses her considerable gifts to convince Raylan that those days are behind her. (Excuse my masculine gaze, but this show is chock-full of exceptionally fucking hot ladies for Raylan to take to bed.) Raylan learns that under the conditions of his parole, Randall isn’t supposed to leave Florida and gives Randall his classic western offer of “get out of town by ___ and I won’t fuck with you” but Randall gets Raylan to agree to a fight.

Though Raylan is well-aware that it will take a fucking miracle to beat Randall fists-wise, he shows up “behind the bleachers after school” to find that Randall has apparently pussed out. Only by the end of the episode do we learn that he has taken off with Lindsey and Raylan’s cash stash, though whether Lindsey had any say in their exodus remains to be seen. Speaking of personal lives, we get another brief glimpse of Rachel’s present struggles, as she’s apparently fucking up on the job due to her marriage going to shit, much to the dismay of Art who is banking on her to replace him in his retirement.

But now let’s get to the Drew Thompson shit, this week’s entry in the saga concerning his “widow” psychic Eve Munro. Eve plays stupid to Tim and Raylan until FBI agent Barnes shows up, causing enough of a distraction so the ridiculously evil Mason Goins can kidnap the poor woman. Eve’s supposed psychic abilities prove apparently “for reals” when she tells Goins (after some really nasty torture) that Thompson’s at the gym where Raylan is meeting Randall, Raylan putting together the situation really quickly. Barnes puts a bullet through his own brain right in front of Raylan instead of being sent up the river, but not before giving up where Goins is keeping Munro.

The cavalry makes it just in time and Goins is arrested and Munro is saved, Munro then telling the Marshals that Drew took off thirty years ago because he witnessed our old buddy Theo Tonin from Detroit murdering a government witness. The plot, as it must, fucking thickens and just what the hell do you think is gonna go down next week, dear reader? What’s the next step in Raylan’s investigation? How long does Johnny have before Boyd takes him down? Was Lindsey’s lamming it voluntary or otherwise? How is the hit to his faith, in both God and his sister, gonna affect Billy St. Cyr? And, seriously, are Billy and Cassie knocking boots? Lemme know your thoughts, Justifans, and I’ll see you next week!